What is a Compounding Pharmacy?

Pharmaceutical compounding is the mixing of drugs by pharmacists to fit a patient’s unique needs. Custom medications can eliminate elements of a compound that are dangerous or unnecessary to a patient and add elements that are specifically beneficial to a particular patient’s condition. While its practice diminished after 1950, the inability of mass-produced drugs to meet the needs of individual patients has spurred a resurgence since the 1990s. Compounding pharmacists like Harbor Compounding Pharmacy are helping to create unique preparations that resolve a host of challenges:

• Recreating discontinued medications


• Flavoring medicines to be more palatable to children


• Customizing drugs for patients with allergies


• Tailoring dosages to avoid overmedicating


• Resolving specific hormonal balance issues


• Relieving serious pain issues


• Providing alternative delivery systems for specific needs